Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride

Another wedding, another supporting role, another time I didn’t get the starring role. I am serving as bridesmaid extraordinaire once again for another friend’s wedding, this time my sisters. This is my third experience as a bridesmaid – twice for sisters, once for my best friend; and to tell you the truth, it’s exhausting.

Couples shower, bridal shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, pre-wedding prep and finally the big moment. The only release is the reception where you can finally get lit and run around three sheets to the wind.

Of course, even the reception isn’t all fun and games because you have to prepare for the big toast. For me, the big toast is even more exhausting because I am a journalism graduate, a former newspaper reporter and a novelist hopeful, so friends and family expect more from me than the typical toast.

My first experience as a bridesmaid I didn’t have to give a toast. My second time I did and delivered successfully with great love and live quotes that no one was familiar with weaved intricately into a speech about how much my friend meant to me. Unfortunately I can’t reuse though since half of the guests at this wedding were also at the last wedding I gave the toast at (joys of living in a small town).

I decided this time, since the bride was my sister, I had to step it up a notch and deliver a truly memorable toast unlike the typical bridesmaid/maid-of-honor toast. I crafted a special poem about growing up together and my sister and her fiancé meeting specialized just for them with rhyming couplets. I think mission accomplished but I guess I’ll let the crowd be the judge of that. Will I get monstrous applause or eardrum-shattering silence? Let’s the hope not the latter.

Furthermore, I hate being stared at. It’s horrifying for me. I get insanely embarrassed, my face turns bright red and I get fidgety. So why not stand in front of 200 people for an hour? Perfect. Last time I was in a wedding, I stumbled on the bottom of my dress going up the stairs, then had to step down in order to get up on the stair. All while trying to be graceful and elegant. Ha!

The big moment is only two days away. Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that I make it down the aisle without a hitch and deliver a flawless and moving toast! Score two for the bridesmaid!

Oh and Thad, if you’re reading, yes another wedding! You know what that means...